Claude Arpi

Saturday, December 10, 2016

China actively continues to invest on infrastructure towards Tibet’s borders with its neighbours.According to Kangba TV, a new Yunnan-Tibet highway is under construction. The project will eventually cost 2.34-billion-yuan.Starting from Bingzhongluo Township in Yunnan Province, it will proceed towards Gongshan Derung and Nu Autonomous County of Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture. The road will then pass through Tshabarong (pinyin: Cawarong Township) and ends up in Zhowago (the Tibetan rendering is not clear) in Zayul County of Nyingchi Township of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).Bingzhongluo Township in Yunnan is famed for the coexistence of different religions including Tibetan Buddhism, Catholicism and Christian.The village of Tshabarong lies at the relatively altitude of 2,003 meters. Formerly known as Tsarung, it was traditionally on a southern trade route running from Yunnan to Tibet; it was also part of the fame tea-horse road. Wikipedia describes the road thus: “An unsealed road cut into the cliffs above the Nu River links it to Bingzhongluo in Yunnan.”Tshabarong is a stage towards the Khawa Karpo’s pilgrimage, the highest mountain in Yunnan’s province (part of the Tibetan territory lies in Yunnan). The peak is located on the border between Dechen County of Yunnan, and the counties of Tsogang (Chinese: Zogang) in Chamdo Prefecture and Zayul in TAR. Khawa Karpo is one of the most sacred peaks in Tibetan culture.The new 280-kilometer road will run for 253 km in the TAR where it will link up with the Sichuan-Tibet highway. Official sources said that the new Yunnan-Tibet highway is expected to meet the 4th national highway standard: “Due to the low altitude, the highway enjoys a variety of cultures and natural landscapes including sharp cliff standing on the bank of Nujiang [Salween] River, barren dry and hot valley, flourishing forest and magnificent glacier.”The road will end up near the Indian border, opposite the Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Khawa Karpo

Plan for Nyingchi PrefectureThe same Kangba TV reported about the TAR’s economic and social achievements during the 12th Five-Year period and the details of the 13th Five-Year Plan.According to the report, the Communist Party’s regional committee of Nyingchi Township has adopted new “policies to advance the social reform and development, which leads to much progress in diverse fields.”During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, Nyingchi’s objective should be one of the first townships “to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in 2018. By 2020, it is expected to be built into a higher-level moderately prosperous society.”It says that the main index of its public services may reach the average level of western China.It will work in ‘six major sectors’ which includes improving people’s livelihood, expanding the investment, protecting the ecology, promoting the industries, boosting innovation and ensuring the social stability.Though, not mentioned in the press release, the roads to the Indian borders will be a major component as I mentioned in recent posts on this blog.

Road to Nepal BorderIn the meantime, The Kathmandu Post said that China was extending its road connectivity up to the Nepal-China border point at Tiptala Bhanjyang in Olangchungola, which is a village in the north-eastern of Nepal.
It was once a busy and historical trade route with Tibet. Located at 3,100 m on the Tamur River, Olangchungola is named after the local inhabitants, the Walungs who came from Tibet. According to The Post, the villagers in Olangchungola, Taplejung are excited about the prospects of having a road connectivity with Tibet. Once the road is opened, the villagers can transport daily essentials from the Chinese mart on the Tibetan side.People living in border areas of Taplejung buy their daily essentials, including rice, salt and oil, from Riu Bazaar in Tibet, while exporting herbs and carpets.The new road extending all the way to Tiptala Bhanjyang will cut the travel duration and make it easier for the people to ferry heavy loads. In the past, people had to walk around 2km to reach Tiptala Bhanjyang. The road connectivity with Tibet has created a great excitement among the people in the area, said The Post: “We have been travelling on foot to reach Lachiphungchung in Tibet before taking vehicles to reach Riu bazaar. Now, we can get vehicles at the border point itself,” remarked Dawand Lama, a trader.The local authorities still have to open 17 km road on the Nepali side, from the border point to Olangchungola. Local people have also urged Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to request the Chinese administration to provide excavators to open a road on the Nepali side.China will certainly oblige; one more Chinese in-road into Nepal.

Friday, December 9, 2016

China has a Dream: to ensure economic prosperity, social stability, and a decent life to its citizens, but also to become a powerful nation; in fact it dreams to become one day the most powerful nation of the planet.
Military power will play a crucial role in the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
This explains the in-depth military reforms undertaken by President Xi Jinping a year ago.
China is really serious about this.
On December 5 in Beijing, President Xi Jinping, who is also Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) attended a two-day meeting during which he called for “a smaller army with better combat capability and optimized structure.” Some 230 high-ranking military officials as well as the 11 CMC members were in attendance.
Xi told the generals: “If China is to build a strong world-class army. …We must seize the opportunity and make breakthroughs.”
Xi spoke about the informationized modern warfare and emphasized the importance of joint operations. He called for readjusting and optimizing the military's structure: “new type of forces must be developed, the ratios between different types of forces must be rationalized, and the number and the scale of the military be downsized.” Xi added: “Quantity should be reduced, quality improved to build a capable and efficient modernized standing army."
This raises two important questions. While undertaking these reforms, has China not taken a too large bite, which is now difficult to chew?
The other question is: what does this mean for India?
Xinhua remarked that December 2015 “marked a fresh start in the history of the Chinese Armed Forces, as the nation embarked on a long march of deepening military reform.”
The official news agency added: “China has entered a key stage of transforming itself from a big country to a strong power, which calls for greater courage in advancing military reform.”
On December 31, new services were created, namely, the PLA Army, the PLA Rocket Force and the PLA Strategic Support Force and a few weeks later, the seven erstwhile Military Regions were regrouped into five PLA Theater Commands.
Xinhua admitted: “Despite the remarkable achievements, arduous tasks remain;” therefore, the comparison with the Long March.
The creation of a PLA Strategic Support Force is a plunge into the future as it will deal with cyber and space warfare, probably the keys of tomorrow’s conflicts.
But changing mindsets and controlling vested interests is not an easy proposition. Peter Wood, the Editor of the China Brief of the Jamestown Foundation noted that Chinese publications “calling for the PLA to ‘cast off’ old concepts about the predominance of the Ground Forces are further indication that the transition has not gone smoothly.”
For the new Forces, “to work together in coordinated campaigns also remains a key bottleneck for the PLA,” is not obvious.
This major hurdle is far from being overcome.
Regarding India: it is high time India undertakes reforms, in which the role of the ground forces (Indian Army) need to be rebalanced with the Navy and the Air Force, giving a greater role to ‘informationized warfare’.
There are other issues which need to be reviewed: take for example the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). In December 2015, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that the post of CDS “could be a reality soon”. He then added that the Prime Minister “marked defence reforms as a priority and stressed that ‘jointness at the top’ was a need long overdue.”
The CDS would coordinate between the three services, the strategic command responsible for the nuclear weapons …and one day, the cyber and space commands.
The creation of a post of CDS was already recommended by a Group of Ministers in 2001. But what happened since then? Practically nothing.
Another example of the apathy of the Indian system is the Indian National Defence University (INDU).
Planned since decades, the government finally approved the setting up of the INDU at an estimated cost of 2.95 billion in Haryana in 2010.
On the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2013, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne, the then chairman of the chiefs of staff committee asserted that “India needs military leaders who can critically analyse, demonstrate professional acumen and are capable of meeting the threats & challenges at the tactical, operational & strategic levels."
What has happened to the INDU? Lost in the corridors of South Block?
In the meantime, Kanwa Asian Defense, a Chinese-language publication reported that China's military build-up is coming closer to India.
Beijing's military would have placed more missiles and fighter jets along the Indian border: “The weapons have been deployed in Tibet and in the western region of Xinjiang along with airborne early warning and control systems.”Kanwa said that Chinese troops have placed the J-11, the J-10 and the Kongjing-500 (airborne early warning and control or AEW&C aircraft) in rotational deployment. The Shenyang J-11 is a twin-engine jet fighter, developed to compete with fourth-generation fighters.
On December 3, 2016, a PLA website showed pictures of airmen “assigned to an aviation regiment under the PLA Western Theater Command performing flight checks on a J-11 fighter jet prior to a round-the-clock flight training exercise under realistic combat environment at a military airfield.”
The airport is located near the Indian border.
Kanwa also said that in Korla (Xinjiang), China may have deployed troops for the launch of midrange ballistic missiles and in Hotan, north of the Aksai Chin, J-10 and H-6K strategic bomber would have been spotted.
Is it not high time for the Indian defence forces to seriously embark on its Long March to modernization?

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Recently, the design
of Terminal 3 of the Lhasa Gongkar has been made public.

It is said that the
design was inspired by “traditional Tibetan culture in the pursuit
ofthe heart of the sun and the moon -
the eternal Shambhala".

What does this mean? Is not clear.

China Tibet Net
added that this project will “not only meet its functional purpose, but also perfectly combine
architectural style and regional culture".

I leave it to the readers to decide
if the culture of Tibet is represented in the model.

Importance of Gongkar Airport
On July 1, China Military Online had reported that new steps had been taken to “help PLA Air Force (PLAAF) cope with emergencies.”
A joint meeting on the development of military-civilian integration of dual-use airports of the PLAAF had been held in Beijing on June 17.
On the agenda was the "Interim Provisions of Operation Security at Dual-use Airports of the PLA Air Force." The PLA website said that it is based on win-win principles for both the military and civilian sides.
The new arrangement, to integrate the development of military-civilian airport resources between the PLAAF and civil aviation is being implemented, noted the website, which further explained: “Its main purpose was to establish a complementary management mechanism with smooth coordination and shared resources to gradually form a support capability that guarantees flight safety at peace times and meets combat needs at wartimes.”
Beijing believed that “two [first] airports [Lhasa and Sunan Shuofang] are good examples of dual-use airports.”

Why Lhasa Gonggar Airport?
As it provided “important support for Tibet's economic development and national security in China’s Southwestern region.”
Lhasa Airport has always been the hub to ‘defend' China’s borders …against India.China Military Online remarks: “On the one hand, as an important force in Tibet’s transportation, the airport has made great contributions to Tibet's economic construction. It has safely transported more than six million passengers in total since it was put into use. The cargo throughput also surpassed 140,000 tons.”
It adds: “On the other hand, the airport is an important channel to transport the PLA's new recruits and strategic materials to Tibet. The airport is also a major ‘airborne bridgehead’ in Southwest China.”

Today, Xinhua announced that the number of passengers 'handled' by Lhasa Gonggar Airport will exceed 3 million in 2016: "it shows the rapid development of its civil aviation industry," says the agency.
For the first time in 2006, the Lhasa airport saw the number of passengers crossed 1 million and in 2013, it reached 2 million.
A senior regional civil aviation official told Xinhua: "The rapid growth in passenger numbers at Lhasa airport shows people's confidence in Tibet's social stability, and is a symbol of the rapid economic development of Tibet."
For the Chinese authorities, the so-called stability of the plateau is clearly linked to the number of passengers using the 71 routes from the Mainland to Lhasa.

Incidentally, on November 25, China Daily announced that more than 20 new highways will be built in the TAR in 2017 (with a total investment of more than 33 billion yuan or 5 billion US dollar).
Among them, a highway between Lhasa and Shigatse Airport and the one between Gongkar Airport to Tsethang.

Monday, December 5, 2016

China has been asserting itself globally. The US's possible withdrawal from the TPP will help Beijing. Can China be a champion of ‘globalisation' and yet remain an authoritarian regime internally

The new Literature Nobel Prize laureate once sang, “The Times They Are a-Changin”. Lately, they have been changing even faster. Realignments are swiftly taking place, creating a sense of planetary incertitude. Take the example of US President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that the US would pull out of the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); it could undoubtedly create a void that Beijing is dreaming to fill. New York University professor Ian Bremmer noted that “officials in China are excited about Trump’s plan to withdraw from the US’s participation in the planned TPP”.The New York Times report headlined, ‘China’s Influence Grows in Ashes of Trans-Pacific Trade Pact’, remarked that an apparent defeat was “an unalloyed triumph for China”. There is no doubt that we may soon witness a considerable realignment in Asia, with China taking the lead.During his keynote speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Lima in Peru, Chinese President Xi Jinping renewed his call for ‘globalisation’; he pushed for the construction of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). While the new US dispensation preaches protectionism and is crusading against economic globalisation, Xi plays the ‘global’ card: “We should firmly pursue the FTAAP as an institutional mechanism for ensuring an open economy in the Asia-Pacific”, he said. Were Mao Zedong to come out of his mausoleum, he would not believe his ears.But nothing is simple in today’s world. The TPP was to promote fairer and freer trade with far-reaching provisions for labour and environmental protection. The US withdrawal may trigger a halt of domestic reforms in the Middle Kingdom. The fact that China will face no restriction anymore, will not help Beijing become a ‘normal’ state. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) pointed out: “The scale of the pact was expected to put external pressure on Beijing to lift its own standards.”Zhao Minghao, a researcher with the China Centre for Contemporary World Studies, told the SCMP that “the TPP’s demise would be a ‘double-edged sword’ for China”. It pointed out that other deals such as the FTAAP “did not require the Central Government to make painful domestic changes”.Can China simultaneously promote free-market and remain an authoritarian regime, controlling its own people in a repressive manner? In this context, it is interesting to look at the new counter-terrorism law which came into effect on January 1, 2016. The new law consists of 97 Articles in 10 chapters, covering issues such as terrorism designation, prevention, intelligence gathering, investigation, emergency response, international co-operation or legal liabilities.While one can rejoice that China has decided to become a ‘normal’ state ruled by law, one is forced to notice that general repression of individual freedom of speech and thought, has dramatically increased since the 18th Congress in November 2012. Though Rule of Law is one of The Four Comprehensives, President Xi’s new mantra (namely build a moderately prosperous society; deepen the reform; govern according to law; govern strictly under the direction of the Party), it is feared that the last ‘comprehensive’ will not be in accord with the third one. Can a state be governed without checks and balances and at the same time follow the Rule of Law?Moreover, the new federal Anti-Terrorism Law will be part of a ‘package’ which will include a National Security Law, a Non-Governmental Organisations Management Law and a Cyber-Security Law, amongst others. How far can the new law become a tool to further contain the resentment of the people? Will the Internet and social media networks be an instrument of information or repression?A few months ago, David Shambaugh, a respected Chinese watcher, who is director of the China Policy Program at George Washington University, wrote a Saturday Essay entitled, ‘Coming Chinese Crackup’. It was published in The Wall Street Journal, but circulated widely on social media. Later Shambaugh, elaborated his theory in a 203-page new book, China’s Future, where he argues that “China is in a state of ‘atrophy’ and ‘decline’, which will continue if no major political reform takes place in the near future”.It is certain that the new law will engender more fear among the so-called minorities and though, like everywhere on the planet, religious extremism may exist in China, ‘regionalism’ in Xinjiang or Tibet is always assimilated to separatism and terrorism. The question remains: Can China become a normal state?Xinhua had reported: “The regional Government of Xinjiang unveiled China’s first local counterterrorism law. Based on China’s Counterterrorism Law, passed in December 2015, the regional law details and supplements the national law in defining terror activities and terrorists, security precautions, intelligence, investigations, countermeasures and punishment.”The fact that a ‘counter-terrorist law’ was immediately enacted in Xinjiang (it will probably happen in Tibet soon) makes the future of human rights in China quite disquieting. Once again, it is too easy to associate regional resentment with terrorism. Authoritarianism has other implications.The Diplomat recently published an article titled, ‘China and Germany: The Honeymoon is over’. It said, “The prolonged honeymoon between China and Germany has come to an abrupt halt. In Berlin, awareness has grown that Beijing has moved from being an economic partner to a serious global competitor.” It cited the recent visit to China of Sigmar Gabriel, the German Economy Minister, which “came in the middle of an atmosphere of crisis in German-Chinese economic relations” It added, “Instead of attempting to improve matters, however, Gabriel set out to teach the Chinese a lesson.”Gabriel is also Vice-Chancellor and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and is a possible candidate for the next chancellorship.The Diplomat explained that Gabriel burst out by quoting the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “China is by far the most restrictive industrial country in the world. Unlike the freedom of maneuver Chinese companies enjoy in the West, foreign firms in China are not allowed, for instance, to invest in the banking, telecommunication, or media industries. Public tenders usually are awarded to Chinese companies rather than to foreign ones.”All this together creates a rather confusing situation; it shows that China is far from stepping into the US’s shoes as the world leader.Indeed the question is: Can China be a champion of ‘globalisation’ and yet remain an authoritarian regime internally? The answers are not easy to get.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

I had written this before the televised announcement by President Hollande that he will not stand for next year Presidential Election. His withdrawal does not change much the analysis.

The French are known for their revolutionary spirit. One could have expected a lots of patakas during the Primaries of the Republican Party (Les Républicains), knowing that the winner of the contest will have good chances to win the Presidential elections next April.After having watched for months the ugliness of the US Presidential campaign, it was a bit of a surprise (and comfort) to see that the seven candidates engaged in the first round kept a rather decent attitude. Not only did the main contenders: Nicolas Sarkozy, the energetic former president, Alain Juppé, the mayor of Bordeaux and François Fillon, who served as prime minister under Sarkozy, discuss their respective programs of how to take France out of the current depressing slump, in a composed way, but there was hardly any viciousness in the debate. However, this time again, like during the US election or the Brexit vote, the surveys went completely wrong. They had predicted an easy victory for Juppé, with Sarkozy closely coming second. But on the ‘E’ Day of the first round, Fillon, who had been catching up in the last leg of the campaign, won with a hefty margin against Juppé. The former PM won 44 % of the votes, while Juppé obtained 28 %. Sarkozy came third with 20 %, while the four other candidates finished with less than 3 percent (the only lady, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, coming 4th with 2.6 %). Sarkozy immediately accepted the verdict. It is probably the end to his political career. Voters were certainly ‘tired’ of Sarkozy’s ‘hyper’ style of functioning and his harsh words for those who did not agree with him (he once told someone who refused to shake hands with him, “get out of my way, poor asshole”).While millions of voters apprehend the extreme right of Marine Le Pen, (who was not part of the Republicans primary), during the first round, the ‘anything but Sarkozy’ was prevalent: the former President is under several investigations, including over allegations of receiving funds from former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi for his 2007 presidential campaign.As he was leaving the political scene, Sarkozy advised his supporters to vote for Fillon in the second round: “[he] seems to have understood best the challenges that France faces." Thereafter, the second round was a formality for Fillon who gathered 67% of the votes to be the presidential candidate for Les Républicains.He is now the great favorite for the ‘real thing’ in April next year. With his radical rightist, though softer program, he will appeal to a larger electorate and probably defeat Marine Le Pen.President François Hollande’s Socialist Party is in total disarray and divided over who should run for the 2017 elections. Hollande has beaten all the records of unpopularity (only 4% of the French approve his policies). It is mainly due to his lack of charisma and some blatant mistakes; for example things that a president should not do: riding on a bike behind his bodyguard to visit his girl friend or confiding State secrets to journalists for a book. Though he does not want to quit, Hollande is considered a definite looser. To compound the President’s problems, his Prime Minister Manuel Valls is a likely candidate to the Socialist primary, while Emmanuel Macron, a close protegé of Hollande not long ago, has already announced that he will be a candidate for the top job.The 38-year-old former Economy Minister (who worked as an investment banker for Rothschild) believes that he has witnessed the ‘emptiness’ of France’s political system; he wants now to ‘bring optimism’ to the country. Today, Macron’s party ‘En Marche!’ (‘On the Move!) directly challenges Hollande’s candidature.The Time wrote: “In his position as Economy Minister, which he resigned from in August, Macron becomes an unlikely champion to many ‘outsiders’, like youth, immigrants and minorities.”However, he is considered by others part of the ‘establishment’ due to his banker’s past. His candidature has certainly created further confusion in the left. After winning first round with a large margin, Fillon declared: “My project will trigger a new hope," adding: "everywhere my fellow citizens told me they wanted change, authority and being respected."These three points may take him to Elysée Palace a few months from now.What really differentiates him from his opponents (Juppé and Hollande in particular), are his views on Russia. During Hollande’s presidency, the Russian President has been made a demon. Fillon asserted that it was "ridiculous to portray Putin as a monster with hands full of blood". The presidential candidate also called for an end of EU sanctions against Russia as he sees Putin as an ‘indispensable ally’ against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, advocating that France should support Bashar al-Assad against IS while helping the Syrian Christians.Hollande’s anti-Putin campaign had taken such proportions that two Mistral-class helicopter carriers, which had been ordered (and paid for) by Moscow were never delivered to the Russian Navy. The deal had been signed in January 2011 by …Alain Juppé, then Defence Minister. Hollande decided to refund Moscow and eventually, the two Mistrals were resold to Egypt (did Saudi Arabia paid the bill?). The latest gossip is that Egypt will sell them back to Moscow because the ships were fitted to Russian specifications. What an irony it would be.After the second round, Fillon told his electors: "I will take up an unusual challenge for France, to tell the truth and completely change its software."He will probably succeed to become the next French President; to change the software may not be so easy.

Sunday, November 27, 2016

The
Tibetan plateau is witnessing a great deal of infrastructure development. This
is not new, but the Chinese investments have taken much larger proportions in
the recent weeks.

According
to the website en.tibetol.cn, the Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)
has vowed to invest 543.1 billion yuan (88 billion US dollar) “to improve
transportation conditions and promote the economic and social development
during the 13th five-year period (2016-2020).”

What
does it means?

Undoubtedly,
it will bring tens of millions Chinese tourists on the plateau.

One hundred million soon?

The
12th Five-Year Plan

During
the previous five-year period (2011-2015), 300 kilometers of high-level roads
were built in the TAR while the Lhasa-Shigatse Railway started its operations in
2014; further 63 new airlines have been opened, linking 40 cities in China.

By
the end of the current Plan (13th), the total mileage of highways in
Tibet will reach 110,000 kilometers.

New Developments

On
November 25, China Daily announced that “more than 20 new highways will be
built in the TAR next year, with a total investment of more than 33 billion
yuan (5 billion US dollar)”.

According
to Ge Yutao, head of the TAR’s regional transportation authority, the new
routes will include Lhasa to Nagchu; Derge to Chamdo; Chamdo to Jaka; Lhasa to
Shigatse Airport; and Gongkar Airport to Tsethang, as well as the Nyima-Aso
section of National Highway 317.

Ge
added that 54 billion yuan (8.8 billon US dollar) from the TAR’s coffers will
be spent on Tibet's transport infrastructure during the current year: “The
total length of roads has reached 82,000 kilometers, and it's expected to reach
89,000 km next year. Next year, we will finish constructing 864 km of highways
and 5,500 km of rural roads, and reconstruct 4,310 km of national and
provincial trunk highways."

Ge
spoke during the recent TAR Congress in Lhasa.

The
TAR plans to spend 15 billion yuan (2.4 billion US dollar) from the State resources
and 40 billion yuan (6.5 billion US dollar) from bank loans to further improve
Tibet's transportation network next year.

It
is not said who is guarantying the loans. Probably the Central Government as
these investments will also be useful to ‘defend the borders’.

On
November 15, while presenting the TAR’s ‘Work Report’ to the regional Congress,
Wu Yingjie, the new TAR Party boss mentioned the improvements in road, rail and
aviation networks planned for the next five years.

The
second ‘Sky Road’

During
the current Five-Year Plan, Tibet will particularly speed up the construction
of its second ‘Sky Road’, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway.

The
1,838 km railway will run from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province to Lhasa.
The first ‘Sky Road’ on the plateau was the Qinghai-Tibet Railway opened in July
2006, linking Golmund to Lhasa.

‘While
the first section of the second ‘Sky Road, between Chengdu and Ya'an, began in
2014, the second part, from Lhasa to Nyingchi, started in 2014.

Wu affirmed
that “The section inside Tibet is expected to be finished by 2020.”

He
told the delegates to the Congress that the preliminary work on the
Yunnan-Tibet Railway and flights between Ngari and Purang, in Ngari prefecture,
will start in the next five years.

Incidentally,
Purang is located near Mt Kailash, just north of Pithoragarh district of
Uttarakhand.

Wu
added that “Tibet has plans to build airports in densely populated and
developed cities and prefectures. The progress of an elaborate transportation
system of highways, railways and air routes in the coming years will lay a
foundation for Tibet to blend in with the Belt and Road Initiative. [One Road
One Belt scheme]"

According
to the TAR’s Work Report: “Tibet has witnessed rapid development in
transportation construction in the past five years, with the total length of
the highways increasing by 33 percent. In that time, the 300-km Lhasa-Nyingchi
Highway was completed, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was expanded and the Lhasa-Shigatse
Railway went fully operational.”

All
this has brought millions of tourists from the Mainland to the plateau, with
the consequences often mentioned on this blog.

Xu
Ance, an engineer with Qinghai-Tibet Railway Co, told The China Daily: “Over
the past 10 years, the number of tourists visiting Tibet has increased every
year, while our passenger and cargo flow has grown annually, too,"

The
railway line is being used for transporting basic goods, coal, cement and
construction materials …and troops and military equipment.

The
world’s highest tunnel

The
Chinese press reported that China completed the work on the world's highest
road tunnel, costing about US dollars 170 million on the Sichuan-Tibet highway.

The
seven-km long tunnel, situated 6,168 metre above sea level (the tunnel or the
mountain?), passes through the main peak of Chola Mountain. It shortens the
time from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, to Nagchu in Tibet by two
hours, and avoiding the most dangerous section on the highway.

The
four-way lanes tunnel has been under construction since 2012. It will open to
traffic next year.

The
seven-km long tunnel has been built at a cost of 1.15 billion yuan (US dollar 170
million). It takes only takes 10 minutes to drive through. The highway will
accommodate 4,000 to 5,000 vehicles a day, as compared with around 1,500 now.

Feasibility
of Kangding to Nyingchi railway

According
to China Tibet Online, the pre-feasibility study report of the Kangding to Nyingchi
segment of the Sichuan-Tibet railway was ready by the end of October this year.

The
China Railway Eryuan Engineering Co. Ltd asserted that it is the longest and
toughest segment of the Sichuan-Tibet railway line. National Development and
Reform Commission is planning to start the construction of this section in
2017. The expected construction time should be seven or eight years

The
Sichuan-Tibet railway starting from Chengdu will serve Ya'an, Kangding, Chamdo,
Nyingchi, Lhoka and Lhasa. The total length of the operation route will be
1,838 kilometers, out of which 1,738 kilometers of new track will be built. The
total investment will reach be 216.6 billion yuan (35 billon US dollars).

It
should shorten the traveling time from 43 hours and 7 minutes now to 13 hours
while providing for ‘bidirectional rapid trains’ and inject “double momentum
for Tibet's economic development. Over five million people will benefit from
this railway project,” according to one report.

Preliminary
work of Yunnan-Tibet

The new Yunnan-Tibet Railway to
Shangri-La and Dechen County of Yunnan province crossing to the TAR’s Markam and
Zogang counties will connect with the Sichuan-Tibet Railway in Bamda Town. The
line will be 415 kilometers long; 265-kilometer being in TAR. The total
investment has been evaluated to 43.6 billion yuan (7 billion US dollar); the Tibet
section alone will cost about 27.8 billion yuan (5 billion US dollar). The
preliminary work for the alignment of the line has started. The main work will
begin during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

China Tibet Online says that the railway in Tibet “is gradually approaching perfection with the operation of Qinghai-Tibet Railway and Lhasa-Shigatse Railway as
well as the construction of Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway. Since the Qinghai-Tibet
Railway is put into operation, [in 2006] Tibet's freight transportation has
increased rapidly and it has become the main freight channel."

And let us not forget, it also takes
care of the PLA’s requirements.

The Chinese site added: “The
construction of Yunnan-Tibet Railway will bring more convenient
transportation conditions for the passenger and cargo circulation between TAR
and Yunnan Province;” it concludes: “The Yunnan-Tibet Railway is a critical
part of China Western Development, which is meaningful for the leapfrog
development and long-term peace and order of Tibet.”

In other words it will be useful to
control the restive Tibetans.

On
October 31, Kangba TV announced, the opening ceremony of Baima (Pema?) Snow
Mountain tunnel on the G214 national highway from Shangri-la to Dechen in
Yunnan province.

Kangba
TV said that the Shangri-la-Dechen secondary highway is extremely difficult to
build “with the high altitude, the worst environment and the most complicated
geological landscape in Yunnan Province.”

The
project consists of three tunnels, all above 4,000m altitude. The length of the
three tunnels totals 19,5 kms. The project started its construction in March
10, 2010 (incidentally, the Tibetan Uprising Day).

The
Baima (Pema?) Snow Mountain tunnel should boost the local economy and help the
transportation network in Dechen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

In
Amdo/Qinghai

In
the north, in the Amdo province of Tibet, the construction
of the Delingha-Xiangride Highway has been completed; the road is 176.48 km
long. The 72.75 km-long Ebao-Qilian Highway is also in operation.

The
Delingha-Xiangride Highway is a special one.

Historically,
Delingha has been the launching sites for many Chinese ballistic missiles. Located
in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, the
project’s ending point will be connected with the planned Beijing-Tibet Highway
(G6), and to the beginning of the Xiangride-Huashixia Highway.

It
has a complex geographical environment, crossing the Gobi Desert, salt-marsh,
and water meadows.

According
to the Chinese media: “It will create a combined transportation network
featuring the Beijing-Tibet Highway (G6), National Road 214, the Qinghai-Tibet
Railway, and the Qinghai-Xinjiang Railway.”

This
expansion is part of the national highway project linking Delingha to Maerkang
in Sichuan (G0615). The entire highway will be built to the latest standards
and will be designed for vehicles to run at a speed at 100 km/hr.

In
the Qilian County, the Ebao-Qilian Highway starts from Ebao Town. It connects
to National Highway 227 as well as the Zhangye-Henan Highway, ending up in
Qilian County. The road further connects to Provincial Road 204 and the planned
Qilian-Chamdo Highway.

Other
developments

China
Tibet News reported that at the beginning of 2016, all cities in China's have
access to the fiber-optic broadband. During the current Five-Year period, China
Telecom will promote the development of basic information resources, making the
fiber-optic broadband faster: “Internet will integrate with more traditional
industries, accelerating the construction of broadband Tibet, intelligent city,
intelligent industry and intelligent family. It also makes the poverty
alleviation work more efficient.”

The website says that there are 82 mobile phones and 11 fixed phones for every
100 people in China's Tibet. The Internet penetration rate reaches 60 percent: “Internet
not only improves Tibetan people's livelihood but also shortens the distance
between Tibet and the outside world. As Internet integrates with traditional
industries such as tourism and agriculture, work efficiency gets great
improvement.”

It
cites the Qionglin Village in Nanyi Township of Menling County, Nyingchi (north
of Aurunachal Pradesh). It has been provide fiber-optic broadband connection by China Mobile.
Out of 47 households in the village, 40 have access to broadband and Wifi
access is available in the village.

The same website says that “during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, China's Tibet
built 3,000 rural comprehensive information service stations, covering 57
percent of administrative villages and 62 percent of farmers and herdsmen.”

Tibet
branch of China Mobile has invested 14.29 billion yuan (about 2.14 billion U.S.
dollar) and built 12,600 base stations: “long distance optical cable reached
51,900 sheet km. In Tibet, there are already 4,440 administrative villages that
have access to mobile Internet, with the coverage rate of 84 percent. 693 towns
and more than 4,000 administrative villages are connected to optical fiber
cable, lying a solid foundation for the proliferation of optical fiber cable in
all farming and pastoral areas.”

It speaks of ‘Heavenly Tibet’: “an intelligent
tourist product, providing tourists with one-stop information service
encompassing eating, accommodation, traffic, traveling, shopping and
entertainment. It is the same as the newfangled online tourism service.”

The
Nyingchi Prefecture has invested 1.33 million yuan (about 199,445 U.S.
dollars), to develop the ‘transparent kitchen’ which is a food safety
monitoring project integrated with the Internet: “Currently, 25 school
cafeterias and hotels have been monitored by this system. Besides, more than
400 restaurants will be put into this item.”

The
Disneyland of Snows will become a cool connected place, but it may lose its soul in
the process.

Lamas
in their mountain caves were also ‘connected’, but in a different way.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

While Delhi remains stuck with its ‘colonial’ system of Inner Line/Protected Area Permit system, China has opened its side of the frontier to hordes of tourists coming to the Mainland.
Yesterday, China Tibet News reported that “Legbo Valley creates ‘natural oxygen bar’ tourism brand.”
The catchy title is not very clear, but the location of the ‘Legbo Valley’ is speaking. ‘Legbo’ or ‘Le’ (or Lepo’) village is located just a few kilometers north of the McMahon Line (LAC) in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
One still remember the Thagla ridge, the site of the Namkha chu battle during the 1962 conflict with China.
Le village is situated on the Tibetan side of the ridge, not far from Khinzemane, the last Indian post on the Namjiang chu (river).
Today, Le village comes under the administration of Tsona County/Dzong of Lhoka City, Southern Tibet.China Tibet News says that the area is not only renowned “as natural oxygen bar; but it is also the settlement of Monpa people with simple and unique ethnic customs.”
‘Natural oxygen bar’ is just a gimmick to attract tourism, as the altitude is not so high (Zemithang, the last big village on the Indian side is at 2,100 meter asl) and the area is afforested, with plenty of oxygen.
The Chinese site says: “To create the tourism brand of ‘natural oxygen bar’, by centering [sic] on the Legbo [Le] Valley scenic spot, Cona [Tsona] County strengthens the construction of tourism infrastructures, improves tourism services, explores unique folk customs, develops characteristic local products, and builds tourism leisure resort destination.”
All this on the Chinese side of the LAC!China Tibet News gives figures: up the beginning of 2016 up to November “the number of tourist reception in Legbo Valley is 46,242 passengers and tourism revenue is 15.929 million yuan, increasing 20.4% and 18.5 respectively.”
It is not clear what a ‘passenger’ is, but it seems a lot of visitors for such a small border village.
Beijing is said to be ready to invest some 89 million yuan (14.5 million US dollars) to have “an ecological civilization site”.
Ecological site or military base?
Probably both!
Like most of the places in Southern Tibet (particularly in the Nyingchi prefecture) local farmers (and even herdsmen) are encouraged to open up ‘Inns’ (family hotels). The Chinese site speaks of promoting “a combination of characteristic culture and tourism.”
The nearby town of Tsona is ‘the site of commodity’ [sic] and is where the Tsangyang Gyatso Festival [takes place].
Let us remember that Tsangyang Gyatso, the Sixth Dalai Lama was born in Urgyeling, a hamlet south of Tawang. Tsona is not the birthplace of the ‘Indian’ Dalai Lama, though he stayed there for a short time while on his way to Lhasa; strangely the town is today promoted as Tsangyang Gyatso's place.China Tibet News reports that during a first phase of investment (77 million yuan or 6 million dollars poured into the area), a ‘characteristic’ small town project is being launched in Le village: “The overall planning project of Kyipa and Gomri Monpa nationality township has been completed. At present, the Legbo Valley tourism leisure resort has been basically formed, attracting tourists with unique charm.”
All this would be fine, it was not happening a few kilometers away from the LAC.
Beijing has used a similar tactic in Metok County, located near the Indian border (Upper Siang). This small country, with a population of hardly 11,000 inhabitants received over 70,000 visitors in 2015. China Tibet Online, an affiliate of Xinhuareported last year that since a highway reached the village of Metok in 2013, “tourism industry has seen rapid development”. In 2015, Metok officially welcomed some 70,800 tourists. For the first time in 2014, the authorities of the county started selling tickets for entrance to its scenic areas; in 2015, total ticket sales have exceeded 5 million yuan.
The propaganda invites the Chinese tourists to see the Galongla Waterfall, the wonder of Swallow Pond, the Metok Waterfalls, the Menba suspended tower and other scenic sites, “as well as ‘plant fossil’ spinulosa trees and other such thousands of kinds of plants and animals.”
The potential tourists in China are told that Metok “is famous for its natural ecology and highland tropical climate. The drop in elevation here is huge, with both brilliant snow mountains and tropical and subtropical plants existing side-by-side, and it is knows as a hiker’s paradise.”
I wonder how many Indian tourists are allowed to Zemithang or Tuting/Geling (Metok is located just north of these villages on the Yarlung Tsangpo river — the river becomes the Siang in Arunachal and later the Brahmaputra in Assam).
Incidentally, was the visit of the Party boss of the Tibet Autonomous Region, near the LAC north of the Upper Subansiri district, linked with a similar scheme to 'occupy the frontiers with tourists' north of the Upper Subansiri district?
Probably!

India to emulate China
Delhi should perhaps emulate China and open the Indian borders to tourism.
Would it not be the best way for the Government of India to demonstrate that Arunachal is part of India?
For Beijing, the trend is bound to continue; the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been told that all new infrastructures built in China should be able to be used for civilian and military requirements.
According to Xinhua, on November 10, President Xi Jinping called for the building of strong and modern logistics forces that will guarantee the realization of the Chinese dream as well as the dream of a strong army.
Xi said: “As the international military competition situation experiences profound changes, and national interests and military missions develop, logistical construction is becoming an increasingly crucial factor that affects wins or losses in battle... and occupies a key place in the development of the Party, the country and the military."
Xi added that “more efforts should be made to use state-level resources and enlist the help of local governments as well as social groups and individuals to develop a series of innovation projects that cater to both military and civilian uses.”
As the result in 2016, 50,000 ‘passengers’ will come a few kilometers from the Indian border.
India should start thinking about the implications of this development.
Incidentally, Lt Gen Devraj Anbu, the GOC of 4 Corps called yesterday on Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu. According to press reports, the discussion centered on construction of roads in the border areas and land acquisition for army use; Gen Anbu also suggested having an Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in the Tawang-Kameng area.
How many years it will take, nobody knows; India is not China.

For information, I am reproducing an extract of the Diary of Capt Frederick Bailey during his journey in the area in 1913. Based on this report, McMahon drew the famous Line.

20th October, Shakti, 11 ½ miles, 7,250 feet. We had a good view down the valley of the Tawang Chu this morning and were shown the frontiers of Bhutan. Our road left the Tawang valley and went up the Nyamjang valley. We had to change our coolies at several villages and were delayed each time. We passed some terraced rice cultivation at Gyipu. The hills were covered in forest. We stopped in a house in the village of Shakti. No rain.

21st October, Le, 19 miles, 8,350 feet. We made a very late start as were again had trouble with our local coolies. Two miles from Shakti we crossed to the right bank of the river and six miles further we came to a large [Gorsam] chorten of a peculiar design having a base of over 50 yards. A mile beyond this was Pangchen on the left bank above which the river has been dammed up by a landship and there are marshy flats [near Zemithang]; at other places the river flows in a very valley with steep sides covered with forest. At Shoktsen where we changed transport we again had trouble with the coolies who threw our loads down and bolted into the jungle. The road is in places over galleries and causeways built up in from the river. We crossed the river 3 tames by good wooden bridges. We arrived after dark, the villagers of Le coming out to meet us with torches of dried bamboo. We stopped in a house. No rain.

[And then Bailey and his colleague Henry Morshead continued towards Tsona]

22nd October, Trimo, 10miles, 10,700 feet.-We went up the valley all day crossing the river 3 times. After going 5 ½ miles we suddenly came on Lepo Tsukang or custom house astride the road where we found an agent of the Tsona Dzongpons who took us in and gave us tea. He collects a tax in kind of 10 per cent on all merchandise which goes up into Tibet from the lower lying Monba country. He also collects 1 tanka on each animal and ½ tanka on each man who passes his post. At Trimo we found the people, though still Monbas, to be very Tibetan in their appearance; they grow crops of barley and turnips but maize and other Himalayan crops have been left behind. Their cattle are dzos. No rain.